Farmers Alliance
The Farmers Alliance is a Kusari political organisation formed to lobby for government subsidies and restrictions on the sale of foreign foods. They are firm enemies of Synth Foods. History Kyushu is often referred to as the Samura “company” planet within Kusari, as so many of its inhabitants depend on Samura’s continued largesse. As part of an effort to stimulate rice production on Kyushu, Samura gradually organized the Kyushu farmers into cooperatives that would buy Fertilizer and customized seeds from their laboratories in New Tokyo. Consumers paid exorbitant amounts for the rice produced, which everyone swore was much higher quality than that produced in any other part of Kusari, and thus worth the premium price it fetched in Samura’s Tokyo supermarkets. With the eventual introduction of Trade Lanes, Kusari farmers were opened to competition with the rest of the Sirius Sector. They lobbied the government heavily, financed with Samura money, which had the most to lose from cheaper foreign competitors. The government acquiesced for several centuries, leading to astronomical Kusari Food prices, which did not drop for a very long time. Eventually, under pressure from the Liberty government, Kusari reopened the agricultural imports market, despite intense lobbying by Samura. Synth Foods moved in and became an overnight success, opening franchises in the urban areas of Honshu and New Tokyo. Demand for expensive Kyushu Food dropped, and many independent farmers were forced out of business. Feeling betrayed, some of the farmers proceeded to organize the Farmers Alliance, a militant group that lobbies for "farmers' rights" -- which include such things as government subsidies and restrictions on the sale of foreign foods in Kusari. In fact, the Farmers Alliance generally is opposed to foreign influence of any kind, particularly the Trade Lanes that have so damaged their livelihoods. The general population ignores the Farmers Alliance for the most part, though they do have some support among older Kusari citizens. In reality The Farmers Alliance is little more than a puppet of Samura, who wishes to return to its Food and trade monopoly days. Samura uses them for much of its dirty work, attacking foreign shippers, Synth Foods, and even Kishiro on occasion. The Farmers Alliance likes the Hogosha, as they represent the traditional “criminals” of Kusari that fit in with society. They abhor the Golden Chrysanthemums and their disgusting drug habit. The Blood Dragons are also viewed with suspicion, since whatever Samura says is the truth to them. Bases Under Control *Kagoshima Depot, Kyushu system, Sector 4G Details Farmers Alliance members only use the Hawk. They use their own Neutron weapons that go by the name of Vulture and Graviton shields. Faction Standings *ALLIES: **None *ENEMIES **Synth Foods **Blood Dragons **Golden Chrysanthemums **Outcasts **Foreign Corporations News ALLIANCE CANDIDATE AHEAD IN POLLS: KYUSHU -- Many have been surprised by Farmers Alliance-backed gubernatorial candidate for Kyushu Hakita Toho's popularity and strength in the polls. It appears that Toho has a strong lead over current governor and incumbent Hitoshi Sasaki. Toho has been electrifying his audiences at rallies in the past two months, and now it looks like all that leg work is starting to pay off. The elections will be held within the next two weeks, and everyone is watching to see who will emerge as the new leader of Kyushu. ALLIANCE ENJOYS STRONG SUPPORT: KYUSHU -- A poll recently taken by an independent news group found that the Farmers Alliance is very popular among a large portion of the Kyushu populace. Obviously, Alliance propaganda is taking affect in the minds an heart of the people of the system. Our organization enjoys particular support from the older, wiser generations living on the planet. Soon people will begin to realize that it was a mistake to let foreigners come into our space. It will not be long before the Farmers Alliance movement is sweeping through the empire. KINDRED SPIRITS: DARMSTADT -- There are two groups within Sirius that have never met each other, yet fight for almost the same exact things in different houses. The common link between the groups? Synth Foods. The Farmers Alliance of Kusari and the LWB of Rheinland are both fighting the Liberty corporation desperately, in an attempt to rid their homelands of the ever encroaching food pastes that feed the majority of Sirius. The LWB is particularly interested in ending the Synth occupation of Planet Stuttgart, while the Farmers Alliance is battling for control of the Kusari food markets. BIO-DOME KNOCKED OUT IN DESHIMA: SHIKOKU -- Farmers Alliance commandos planted a bomb in the biodome in Deshima several days ago. Both operatives were able to escape before the timer went off. According to reports, the dome will not produce food for several weeks. This is a symbolic victory for the Alliance. There is no place for a Synth Foods biodome in Kusari space, and soon the foreigners will come to learn that fact. The injuries caused by the explosion are regrettable, yet necessary when compared to the terrible price that the people of Kusari will pay if the Liberty corporation takes over. EXPLOSION IN BIO-DOME INJURES TWO: DESHIMA -- It is believed that Farmers Alliance operatives planted the bomb that destroyed a portion of Deshima's cellulose crop on Tuesday of last week. The bomb blast also seriously wounded two biodome tenders and caused minor injuries to 15 more. Immediately following the explosion the Bounty Hunters Guild began a full investigation into the events, and many Hunters left the station to hunt for the perpetrators. "Those who did this will be found and punished severely," said Bounty Hunter Ken Wallace. PIRATES MURDER LIBERTY CREW: IZU -- A Synth Foods transport ship was destroyed and all hands lost last week when the Farmers Alliance staged one of their most vicious attacks. The transport was passing the moon of Izu when Alliance ships engaged it. According to recorded communications, the Paste transport surrendered and was expelling cargo when the Alliance vessels opened fire. "We are dismayed to see that this was a case not just of piracy, but of cold-blooded murder," quoted IC representative John Wilkins. Shortly after the attack, Synth Foods responded by cutting prices on its most popular brands in Tokyo, further increasing pressure on Kyushu food growers. YOUTH EATING UP SYNTH PASTE: NEW TOKYO -- The hardworking farmers of Kyushu would be sorry to see the number of Kusari youth buying foreign foods these days. It looks like the newest trend is Synth Paste. Many of New Toyko's young and hip are attracted to the Liberty corporation's new flavors that were specifically designed for the Kusari market. Among the choices are flavors like Golden Squid and Green Sea. KYUSHU RICE IS HEALTHIEST CHOICE: NEW TOKYO -- Though many complain of the higher price that comes with Kyushu foods, they do not think of the benefits their bodies are receiving from eating naturally grown foods. A recent study conducted by an independent organization discovered that Synth Paste can damage a person's long-term health and cause hair loss. The synthetic swill they pump from their biodomes is chiefly chemicals and dye. Remember to tell people this information when they complain about the prices of our foods, because you cannot place a price on good health. Rumors "We get all of our supplies from Kabukicho in the Kanto Field of the New Tokyo system. Those Hogosha seem dishonest, but they are friends of Samura, so I guess they must be okay." - Kagoshima Bartender Yoshizuma Chiba "Some people say that we are just puppets of Samura. It is true that Samura financially supports our cause, and tells us whom and where to strike next. But we still can decide for ourselves if we want to continue doing this. We are all volunteers to the cause." - Yuji Ishii, Kagoshima Depot "The Kusari government should not allow lower quality imports that threaten the farmers' traditional way of life. Before Synth Foods was allowed into Kusari, we could charge a premium price for our Rice and Produce. Now all of the Tokyo urbanites prefer cheap Synth Paste." - Kazuo Maeda, Kagoshima Depot "I hear that our equipment and supplies are paid for by some mysterious benefactor in Shinjuku. It's a good thing we have someone with much money willing to fight the foreigners. Sometimes they ask us to raid Kishiro storage depots, which is troubling. We don't see ourselves as common thieves, like the Hogosha." - Tsutomu Nakamura, Kagoshima Depot "Samura has been very good to us. They built the factories in Kyushu, provided us with special Seeds and Fertilizers, and even provided special Samura Bank loans to my family. We drive a Samura XCV series personal craft, of course." - Yuji Ishii, Kagoshima Depot "We use this base to attack Synth Foods convoys in Shikoku and Tokyo. There are Jump Holes near both systems. Sometimes the council of elders orders us to attack Kishiro Consumer Goods transports, or even Optical Chips. We do what we are told; that is the traditional Kusari way." - Kazuo Maeda, Kagoshima Depot "We are the unemployed farmers of the garden planet of Kyushu. Our families have toiled for generations, producing Food for all of Kusari. Synth Foods has destroyed our traditional way of life in 10 years. They must be stopped." - Tsutomu Nakamura, Kagoshima Depot Category:Criminal Factions Category:Factions Category:Kusari Factions Category:Rebel Factions